Conquered Hearts
by ReinaTheFoxDemon
Summary: I wrote this to satisfy my own obsession. The characters are from the game Ikémen Sengoku-Romances Across Time. Ariana has been sent to the past, the Sengoku Period to be exact, and ends up saving Oda Nobunaga's life. Who will be conquered? Japan? Or her heart? I suck at summaries. Hope you enjoy. If you haven't played the game go download it, you will be hooked like I am!
1. chapter 1

**_Baby won't you come my wayyyyy, got something I wany to sayyyy, cannot keep you out my brainnnn_**...

Walking down the busy streets of Kyoto, singing along to my iwatch, which are bluetoothed to my headphones, is my definition of a good day. i love to sing out loud, its quite obnoxious, or so im told.

My name is Ariana. I have long blonde hair, pale skin, and my eyes cant make up their mind whether they want to be blue, green, or grey. I know, i know, blonde hair? Blue eyes? Well, ya see, I'm from America. My parents transfered here a few years ago, teaching English at a university. So lucky me, I got to move to Japan. I have lived in Kyoto for 3 years now, the food is to die for, the fashion outrageous, and the music (my favorite subject of all) is cosmically incompareable.

However, for all of Kyoto's beauty and wonder, I dont have many friends here. Don't get me wrong, the Japanese people are super nice and respectful, however, I'm still an outsider. My American upbringing isn't always a good thing when it comes to living as a Japanese citizen. I'm occasionally loud, opinionated, and easily distracted. Bad combination. Especially here in Japan. But hey, I make the best of it. My parents actually just bought me this solar-powered iwatch to try and cheer me up. It wasn't even on the public market yet, but my parents know a guy in development over at Apple, so I got the hook-up. Now i could listen to music 24/7, without my battery dieing on me. Just leave it in the sun and voila! Fully charged.

It was my favorite time of day, right before the sun starts to go down. Some clouds had moved in earlier and gave me some early shade but I was just starting to worry if it might rain when I heard the rumble of thunder.

 _Great,_ i thought, _maybe I can catch a ride w_ ith _mom and dad home_.

I duck through the entrance to a Memorial, if I cut straight through I would be at the university in minutes, it was a shortcut I had used many times.

I made a mad dash for the other side, trying to make it as close as I could before it started raining, so naturally I run straight into someone and fall back on my ass. She's beauty, she's grace, she's.. completley uncoordinated

"I'm sooooo so so sorry," i say rubbing my head.

"It's alright, here let me help you," replied a quiet but slightly amused voice.

I looked up to see a quite good-looking guy with light brown hair amd small rectangular glasses reaching out to help me up.

"Thanks," i said smiling as I got to my feet, "I should have been watching where I was going, I trip over air sometimes, so I knew better."

"No harm done," the cute guy said, "I'm Sasuke, I'm a student at the university about a block from here."

"Oh really, my parents teach there!" I said happily, "I'm guessing your major is science since your wearing a lab coat?"

"Yeah, I..." but he was cut off by the bottom dropping out of the sky and in seconds, we were both drenched.

"Perfect," i whined ripping off my headphones and watch and stuffing them in my backpack so they wouldn't get wet, "So much for trying to dodge the rain. I'm sorry, I guess I got you caught in the rain too."

"It would have caught me anyway, I visit this memorial often," he said gesturing to the memorial slab beside us.

It was the memorial made for Oda Nobunaga, known affectionatley as 'The Devil King", a famous warlord in the Sengoku period who died in a fire long ago.

"Why here?" I asked puzzled, "So your major is history? Not science?"

But before he could answer, lightening struck Oda Nobunaga's memorial, sending us flying into the air with a huge flash of burning white light. I braced my body for the impact of my fall..but it never came. Instead i feel as if I'm already on the ground, according to the hard wood floor i feel underneath the palm of my hands. Maybe I passed out...?

I open my eyes and find myself in a dark, quiet room. It was in the traditional Japanese style, _where the hell was I..?_ I slowly stood up and rubbed my back, I seemed to be fine. That's when I smelled it. Smoke. Burning. Fire.

I quickly darted to the door and slid it open, only to find myself in yet another room. Only this time, I could see I was right. I could see the soft glow of fire through the fusuma door, inching towards the room, slowly burning the door seperating it from me. I run full speed to the only other door in the room, when for the second time that day I fell straight on my ass. Only this time, I didn't trip over just air, it was a person.

"What the hell.." the man said getting up from the futon I undoubtedly paid no attention to, "What are you doing in here wench?"

I stopped rubbing my butt as I stood up glareing at him, about to give him a piece of my mind, but immediatley my breath caught in my throat, despite the odd clothing, he was the sexiest guy I had ever seen. Tall, muscular but lean, with dark black shaggy hair and eyes the color of cherry wood.

I must have taken too long to answer because he grabbed a sword from his bedside and unsheathed it, pointing it at me.

"I suggest you find your voice quickly," he said coldly, snapping me out of my trance.

"Are you crazy!? This whole place is on fire! We don't have time for this!" i yelled at him, grabbing his free hand and pulling him to the door with me.

It was then he realized the glow of the fire, and started running with me.

We skidded into a long hallway and ran so hard my heart felt like it was in my throat, but I didn't dare stop, the smoke was thick out here and we had already started to cough from the ash entering our lungs. The guy I found had ended up in front of me, pulling me by the hand, I was hopeing that meant he knew the way out.

We rounded what seemed like the thousandth corner, and in front of us was another long hallway with a huge pair of double doors at the end, had to be the exit! The sexy stranger and I sprinted towards the doors like Death itself was at our heels. He put one arm out in front of us and slammed open the doors with his shoulder as we spilled out into a courtyard, gasping for breath.

I fell to my knees in the dirt and gravel trying to relearn how to breathe. I stole a glance at my mystery man, he was just stareing at the burning castle with an incredulous look.

 _Where the hell am I!? And who the hell is he!?_ i thought to myself, still trying to find my voice, but he beat me to the punch.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" he said rounding on me and fixing me with a cold stare.

I haughtily got to my feet and placed my hands on my hips.

"How about a 'Thank You' first, seeing as I just saved your ass!" i snapped flipping my hair back out of my face.

That startled him.

First his eyes widened in suprise but immediatley after, was replaced by a slightly amused but arragont smile.

"What is your name, girl?" he said crossing his arms over his chest, still wearing that sly smile.

"Excuse me, do you have ash stuck in your ears? I just saved your life buddy!"

"No, it all stuck to you," he said chuckling.

I finally looked down at myself to find my clothes covered in soot.

 _Great,_ i thought, _Meet a hot guy and I look like absolute hell._

Suddenly shouts and the soft rumble of hoofbeats filled the air, a second later, two men rode up to us and dismounted quickly.

"Mi'lord! Thank Kami your alive!" cried the first man as he approached us. He had brown hair and golden eyes, no bullshit, they were gold.

"When we saw the flames, our hearts dropped. We thought it was too late," stated the other man worriedly. He had grey hair and a odd color eye color that can only be described as a deep violet.

"And it would have been, had it not been for this woman," the mystery guy said gesturing towards me.

The two men finally looked at me, like they had just noticed I was standing there.

 _What the HELL is going ON!_ I thought to myself furiously.

"Woman!" the brown haired guy snapped at me, "Identify yourself! Why are you here!?"

"Just hold on a damn minute!" I cried out angrily, placing my hands back on my hips, "I'll be the one asking the questions around here! Who the hell ARE you people?"

The brown haired guy unsheathed his sword that I hadn't noticed was at his side, "I suggest you answer, or forfeit your life wench."

"What is it with you people calling me that!?"

"Enough." the man I saved declared, finally stepping in, "This woman is the reason I'm alive."

"Or she started the fire," the brown haired guy said, looking uneasily at me.

"What reason would she have to start a fire to kill me, then save my life," he said stareing his comrade down.

"But mi'lord.."

"I said enough Hideyoshi," the mystery man said with a warning glare that immediatley silenced the other man.

"Now, back to my question. What is your name?"

It took me a second to realize he was now looking at me.

"Oh! Ariana...my name is Ariana," I said looking from one man to the other, finally a little scared.

"Ariana..." the man I saved said, almost to himself, "What a strange name."

"A strange name to go along with her strange clothes," the grey haired man said smiling slightly at me.

 _Strange clothes..?_ i thought looking down at myself. I was wearing a tight Falling In Reverse t-shirt, with tight black skinny jeans, and Converse sneakers. _Considering it's me, this is pretty normal,_ i thought, thinking of some of my crazier ensembles.

"Well Ariana," the sexy mystery guy said taking a step towards me with his hands laced behind his back and coming to stand a little to close for comfort in front of me, "Thank you, I would be dead if you had not awoken me."

"Your welcome umm...?"

"Nobunaga. I am Lord Oda Nobunaga," he said with that sly smile of his.

 _Nobunaga..._ i thought, my blood freezing to a halt in my veins, _No way..._ "Hold on just a minute," I said shaking my head and placing my hands on my temples, "What year is it..?" i said quietly looking up at Nobunaga in soft horror.

"1592, of course," he said raising an eyebrow at me.

I felt like I was spinning, either that or the whole world was. My heart felt like it would beat out of my chest and fall on the ground in front of me.

Nobunaga stepped even closer towards me, pulling me in by my waist, and whispering right above my ear, "Ariana...How would you like to rule the world by my side."


	2. chapter 2

"Ariana...how would you like to rule the world by my side."

His breath was hot on my neck, making me shiver. I suddenly shoved him back, giving in to my panic.

"No way!" I yelled, and bolted into the forest behind me. I heard voices calling my name but didn't stop. My heart was raceing along with my thoughts, panic had reared it's ugly head, fueled by confusion and fear.

I ran through the unknown forest, tears streaming down my face, letting the branches scratch at my body as I ran. Finally I trip over a tree root and fall face first into a huge pile of dead leaves. I let myself sob out my confusion and terror until I felt numb from it. Picking myself up off the forest floor, i wiped my tear-stained face and tried to calm myself down.

"1952..." i whispered to myself.

 _Okay Ari, get a grip. I must be dreaming..._ I thought to myself standing up and wipeing at the dirt and ash on my clothes. That's when I heard it, movement. A small branch breaking, the sound of dry leaves crunching. I tried to turn around, but it was too late. Strong arms encircled my chest and hand clamped down over my mouth.

I struggled anyway, I couldn't help it. I tried to scream but his hand stopped any noise from escaping my lips.

"Quiet now," came a deep voice, "I'm not going to hurt you. Promise you won't scream and I'll release you. I just couldn't have you giving away my position. I mean you no harm."

I relaxed slightly and nodded my head once. His hands slowly released me, still cautious. I turned around slowly and came face to face with a man with black hair, dark eyes, and a scar that ran swiftly down the middle of his face.

"Thank you," he said quietly with a small smile, "What are you doing out here this late, and alone at that?"

I just looked at him, not really sure what to say.

"What's your name?" he said a little softer, obviously senseing I didn't want to answer.

"Ariana..." i whispered, still kind of afraid of the man.

"Well Ariana, I suggest you run along home. It's not safe to be outside in the woods tonight, there are wolves about," he said with a smirk. With that, he turned and disppeared into the darkness of the trees.

 _Weirdo_ , I thought, _What did he mean there are wolves about? And just what was he doing out here in the woods in the first place? Could he have been the one who started the fire...?_

My nerves were well and truely going nuts right about now.

 _What am I going to do, somehow I'm in 1592. The last thing I remember was that flash of lightning and...wait a minute, there was a guy there...Sasuke! He had to have traveled back in time with me! I've gotta find him!_

Apparantley while all this was going on in my head, I had been spotted by someone again. Should have known...I always sucked at hide and seek.

"Ariana, there you are."

Not gonna lie, he scared the hell out of me. I whirled around to see the grey haired man from earlier with the strange purple eyes.

"It's dangerous out here right now," he said dismounting his horse and walking over to me, "I'm Ishida Mitsunari, by the way. Lord Nobunaga had me come find you and escort you back to Azuchi Castle."

"Excuse me?" I said in disbelief, "You want to take me to Azuchi Castle?"

"Those are my orders, are you ready to depart?" he said walking back towards his horse and holding his hand out to me.

I stood there shellshocked. I had heard about Azuchi Castle in history class while I was in school in Kyoto. Now I was actually about to go see the real deal? This was insane.

 _Where else am I going to go though...I can't stay lost in these woods,_ I thought to myself after a second, _Plus this guy Mitsunari doesn't seem that bad, nice even._

"I guess so," I said walking towards him, eyeing him suspiciously and letting him help me up onto his horse.

"Your satchel is hurting me," he grunted from behind me.

"Satchel...? Oh my backpack!" I suddenly remembered. I shrugged off the straps and sat my bag in my lap.

He placed me in front of him and grabbed the reins.

"Don't look so frightened" Mitsunari said as the horse started to trot, "You did a brave thing tonight, and saved Lord Nobunaga's life. You have all of the Oda Clan's gratitude."

"It was nothing..." I murmered.

I looked up at the sky and saw a million stars stareing back at me in the night sky.

 _I wonder if Mom and Dad have noticed that I'm gone yet,_ I thought, " _How does that work anyway since I'm in the past?_

My head hurt.

My body ached and the scratches on my arms and legs from the forest stung. My eyes got heavy.

 _I'm so tired,_ was the last thing I thought before I drifted off into oblivion.


	3. Chapter 3

Clop...Clop...Clop

 _What in the world is that noise,_ i thought as I opened my eyes, _jeez its bright._ The loud clopping sound that had awoken me was the horse I was rideing on's hooves hitting the wood of a bridge.Cherry blossom trees lined the riverbank, the wind blowing them lightly into the air. I looked at them in awe, I had never seen this many cherry blossoms before.

"Good your awake, I was just about to wake you up. We will arrive at Azuchi Castle momentarily," came Mitsunari's voice from behind me.

"So it wasn't a dream...I really am in the Sengoku period.."i said quietly.

"Hm?"

"Nothing.." i said gripping my bag that was still securely in my lap.

We were approaching large gates, this must be the castle. They opened for us and once inside I saw a beautiful courtyard in front of a huge Japanese style castle. My jaw hit the ground.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Mitsunari said senseing my wonder.

"That's an understatement," I said finally starting to smile a little.

We rode straight up to the front door where the brown haired guy from last night was standing waiting for us.

"Hideyoshi," Mitsunari called as he helped me from his horse.

"Mitsunari. Ariana. We've been expecting you."

"Ariana this is Toyotomi Hideyoshi," Mitsunari said gestureing towards him.

I nodded my head. Hideyoshi looked like he didn't like me too much. His problem.

"I'll see you to the baths and then to your room to change out of...whatever that is your wearing. I'm sure after last nights excursion and the ride here you want to get cleaned up. Afterwards I am to escort you to Lord Nobunaga."

"Okay..but why? Why am I here? Why invite ME to a gorgeous castle and put me up?" Call me crazy, but this was getting just a little hard to believe.

Both of them looked at me with puzzled expressions.

"Ariana, like I said last night, you saved Lord Nobunaga's life. Last night could have been disasterous for the Oda Clan, you saved more than Lord Nobunaha's life. You saved an entire force," Mitsunari said smiling at me.

"Oh shucks Mitsunari," I said blushing a little, "You make it seem like I'm some hero..I just acted on instinct. You see someone in trouble, you help..it's just that simple."

Hideyoshi's expression towards me softened a little at my reply. He saw me looking and quickly looked away.

"But you are Ariana," Mitsunari said clapping a hand on my shoulder.

"Alright, enough feeding her ego," Hideyoshi said takeing me by the elbow, "I'll escort you to the baths."

"See you soon Ariana!" Mitsunari called after me as we walked into the castle.

Not gonna lie, kinda wish Mitsunari would have been the one to take me.

 _Well at least this will give me a chance to win over Hideyoshi,_ i thought optimistically.

"So, Hideyoshi," I started, "How's your morning been?"

He gave me a suspicious glance.

"Busy," he said curtly, "after seeing to the troops Lord Nobunaga had me await you and Mitsunari's arrival."

"Oh... so you seem to do a lot for Lord Nobunaga," I said smiling, trying to match my pace with his so I wouldn't fall behind him.

"His will. My hands." he replied, but I could tell, he appreciated that I had caught on to that so quickly.

"Here are the baths," he said stepping to the side of a door and gesturing me inside, "I will await you here until you are finished, your clothes are waiting for you inside."

"...Hold up, so your just going to stand outside the door until I'm finished?"

"Yes, so don't take all day," he replied grumpily.

"Fine," I huffed as I slid the door open to go inside, "weirdo."

I snapped the sliding door shut and almost let out a tiny squeel when I turned around and saw the bathroom.

For an old fashioned bath, it was enormous. Steam rose from the great basin, but the real kicker was the skylight and the small trees, vines, and flowers that lined the inside walls, all the way up to the top. It was like your own private bathing oasis.

 _Don't take all day he says,_ I think to myself, _Has he SEEN the inside of this place?! This just screams for me to take my time and enjoy it!_

The water was scented lightly from the cherry blossoms and lotus flowers that had been spread on top of the water. Stepping in, I realized the warm water also contained oils that left my skin soft and silky. After batheing I literally had to drag myself from the warm water, I didn't want to leave so soon.

I wrapped myself in a long towel and went in search of the clothes left for me that Hideyoshi had mentioned. The only thing in the room was a gorgeous blue kimono, that had beautiful yellow and green flowers flowing down it and a light spring green underrobe with a bright yellow obi.

 _Uhm, how am I supposed to get this thing on by myself,_ i thought holding up the beautiful silk.

As if she read my mind, a woman slid open the door to the bathroom and let herself inside. She wore a navy blue kimono with a plain white underrobe and a blood-red obi. As soon as she slid the door closed she bowed low to the ground, her hands out in front of her at a point.

"I am Haru," she said in a quiet but sweet voice, "I was sent to help you dress. Did you find the bath to your satisfaction?"

"Boy, did I!" I said smiling and arching my back, "This bathroom is amazing!"

She smiled sweetly at me and bowed her head in acknowledgement.

"So do you live here Haru?" I asked takeing in her appearence. She had chocolate brown hair, cut just below her ears, and beautiful hazel eyes. Her nose was small but round and she had lips like a tiny rosebud but the palest of pinks, totally the opposite of my full, highly pigmented lips.

"Yes, I'm a maid here at Azuchi," she said as she rose to her feet and crossing the room to where the kimono laid, "and you must be the 'Ariana' the whole castle is buzzing about."

"The whole castle buzzing? About me?"

"Of course, Lord Nobunaga has never let a young woman come and stay at the castle for ANY reason. So naturally, before you even arrived, the whole castle was lit on fire with the story of a young woman's bravery and defiance...so is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"That you saved Lord Nobunaga's life by pulling him to safety from the fire. That he asked you to be his queen and you refused him and ran away.." she said quickly, like she would lose her nerve if she didn't get it out fast enough.

"Word spreads fast here with no cell phones..." I mumbled, "Yeah...that's all true."

"You are truly made of something special Ariana," she said beaming at me.

"Call me Ari," I said sheepishly, "And no I'm not. Anyone would have done the same thing.."

"Your wrong," she said firmly, "Not many people would have risked their life for someone else. The fact that Lord Nobunaga saw fit to bring you here is proof enough there is something special about you."

Nobunaga's sexy smirk came to mind.

"I bet a guy like that has women coming and going around here all the time."

"Absolutley not," she said shakeing her head, "I have lived here for 5 years, tending to this castle and it's inhabitants. In all that time, Lord Nobunaga has never shown any kind of interest in a woman, of any kind. Let alone bring her into his home."

"Hm..well that's a surprise," I said almost to myself.

"Now let's get you into this kimono," she said picking up the underrobe and holding it out to me, "We musn't keep the Lord waiting."

 _Well..it's not like I have anything else to wear,_ i thought eyeballing my wet and dirty clothes that were still on the floor.

I took the robe from her and told her to turn around so I could remove my towel

and slip on the underrobe. She looked confused, like she hadn't expected me to ask that of her. Hey, woman or not, no way was I getting naked in front of a stranger. A girl from the future has to have SOME boundaries.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, what do ya think?" I said giving a small twirl.

"You look beautiful," Haru said in a breathy voice, "You look wonderful in blue. Your eyes look like the ocean."

"Shucks Haru," I said sheepishly, "Flattery will get you everywhere with me ya know."

Haru giggled behind her hand, "You have a strange way of speaking, but i like you."

"Hopefully everyone else will to...seeing as I have no idea how long I'm gonna be stuck here..." I mumbled.

"Stuck here?" she said cocking her head to one side.

"Nothing.."

"I think you can leave the bathroom now Lady Ari," she said kindly, sensing that I was nervous.

"Just Ari. And I guess your right, I think I've stalled long enough," I said squareing my shoulders.

Haru bowed her head and slid open the door. As promised, Hideyoshi was still standing just outside. He turned around as he heard the door slid open, his eyes bugging out of his head as he saw me.

"Pick your jaw up off the ground Hideyoshi," i said jokingly.

He visibly straightened himself.

"Took you long enough," he said smiling softly at me, "Now that you are presentable, come, Lord Nobunaga awaits."

"Great..." I said falling into step behind him, my mind raceing.

What am I gonna say to him..? What does he want with me? Why did he bring me here? So many questions ran through my head, with no time for answers.Within minutes, we were standing in front of a pair of elaborate doors.

"You will show the Lord the utmost respect while in his prescense, understood?" Hideyoshi said turning to look me in the eyes, "Lord Nobunaga does not put up with insolence, no matter if you got lucky the first time. I'm... telling you this for your own good Ariana. I might not completley trust you but...well...they don't call him 'The Devil King' for nothing, okay?"

That scared me, but also made me smile.

"Aw, Hideyoshi, you do care."

My sarcasm knows no bounds.

"...Thank you."

He nodded his head in acknowledgement and opened the doors with one sweep of his arms.

The room was completley empty except for one. Lord Nobunaga sat atop a raised platform centered along the back wall, looking over a map. He looked up as we entered and at first he looked stunned, as Hideyoshi had when he saw me after my bath, but it quickly turned into that sly smirk of his. I haven't known the man 24 hours and I can already tell that I would be seeing this smile a lot.

"Ariana," he said folding up the map and setting it aside, "It's rude, and in my case, dangerous to refuse me and run off."

Hideyoshi glanced nervously at me. Its like he could feel my sarcasm coming.

"You'll have to excuse me, after being called 'wench' all night by everyone I wasn't in the mood for someone's advances," I said rolling my eyes.

I think I saw Hideyoshi flinch a little out of the corner of my eye, come to think of it, he looked a little sick.

I saw the suprise spread all over Nobunaga's face, quickly followed by his wicked smile as he rose from the platform and crossed the room to stand in front of me. For some reason, the closer he got, the faster my heart seemed to beat.

"Well," he said quietly and leaned into me so I could feel his breath on my cheek, "Are you in the mood now?"

I couldn't quite catch my breath, every nerve in my body felt like it was standing at attention. Well, when in doubt, be a smartass.

"Don't flatter yourself," I responded finally, but my voice was betraying me, him being so close was causing some kind of reaction inside me. What's worse, he knew it.

He gave me another devilish grin and backed away from me a little and chuckled to himself slightly.

"Shot down again, although I'm not so sure you meant it as much this time," he said walking back to his seat.

"What kind of game you playing at?" I said placing my hands on my hips and throwing my weight into it so my hip popped out, "Why did you bring me here?"

His eyes looked hungry as he answered me, "The better question, is why were you the one who saved my life? Why were you there? Where did you come from?"

"Hell I don't know!" I said throwing my hands up in the air, finally letting the events of the the past few hours get to me, "First the lightning takes me back in TIME. Then I save a famous warlord from burning up in a fire!" By this time I'm rambling and pacing back and forth like a tiger in a cage, "Now I'm at Azuchi Castle, a place I have only read about and there are samurai everwhere and I just wanna go home!"

M _e thinks I said too much_ , I thought as I looked at the confusion spread across Nobunaga's features.

"M'lord, if I may. Ariana has had a rather trying night. Perhaps she has not regained her full self yet after last night's tramatic events," Hideyoshi said stepping forward a little. I actually jumped a tiny bit when he started speaking. After just that small interaction with Nobunaga, I had forgotten Hideyoshi was even in the room.

Nobunaga's hawk-like stare burrowed into me, "Hm...yes, of course," he got up once again and stood in front of the platform, "You will stay here at Azuchi Castle, Ariana. You may spend your days however you like, play with makeup, play cards, it really doesn't matter what."

"Do nothing all day? That sounds boring.." I said with real feeling.

"Ariana!...it is a very generous offer, dont be rude," Hideyoshi whispered to me.

Nobunaga smiled, like he had expected that kind of answer.

"Well, I do need a new chatlaine. The job is yours, if you desire."

"Chatlaine? What is that?"

"Someone who oversees the upkeep of the castle," Hideyoshi said to me quietly.

"Oh..." I said thinking seriously about it, "What about clothes? I'm very good at designing and making clothes."

Actually, my dream job was a fashion designer, or a singer but I didn't think my voice was good enough to go pro, plus I was too embarrassed to sing in front of anyone.

"I think the seamstress does need help Milord," Hideyoshi said turning his gaze from me to Nobunaga.

Nobunaga nodded his head, "It's settled then, Ariana will be the new chatlaine and also help the seamstress with whatever she needs done."

"Thank you.." I said awkwardly shufflimg my feet a little.

The doors behind us burst open and two men came striding through. One with an eye patch and deep chesnut hair and the other with eyes greener than a cat's and hair almost the color of mine.

"Nobunaga!" the man with eye patch exclaimed with his arms spread wide open, "I humble myself before you milord!"

"Is it time to listen to the peasant's complaints already?" Nobunaga replied with a small smile on his face.

"Hm, so this is the princess of Azuchi the whole castle staff has been whispering about," the man with the eye patch said taking notice of me and walking in a circle around me like I was a car he was thinking of buying...or a shark circling its dinner, "Not bad, not bad at all."

My eyebrows raised at his comment as he stopped in front of me.

"Yes, this is Ariana," Nobunaga said taking a step towards us, "the princess of Azuchi."

My jaw dropped at the "P" word.

"Princess? No, your mistaken. I'm definatley not a princess," I said stammering over my words.

"Oh but you are!" the man with the eye patch said sliding his arm across my shoulders and pulling me in close to his side, "Any woman who could get this devil to take a second look is definatley a princess."

"I have very specific taste," Nobunaga said rolling his eyes, "Ariana this crude piece of work is Date Masamune and the quiet fellow beside him is Tokugawa Ieyasu."

I looked to the man with blonde hair and he nodded a greeting at me. To think I was actually meeting a part of the Tokugawa family! Pinch me! I must be dreaming!

"Now that we are introduced and are on a first name basis," Masamune said leaning into me and talking very close to my cheek, "How about you just come and be my girl, I'm way more fun and exciting than Nobunaga, he only cares about war and death. C'mon, whaddya say?"

I just knew my face was as red as a tomato.

"That won't be happening," Nobunaga said taking my elbow that wasn't pressed into Masamune and pulling me firmly to his chest.

Yeah, now I knew my face was red, I could feel my ears burning and my heart racing as he crossed his arms behind my back and held me tightly to him by my waist.

"Hey, a guy knows when he's lost the battle," Masamune said throwing his hands up in a push-away motion, "But the war is not over until the young lady has says it is."

I peeked around my shoulder to see a devilish glint and an evil smirk on Masamune's face. This guy right here was trouble, he had "flirt" all but tattooed on his forehead.

"Hideyoshi, take Ariana out of here," Nobunaga said obviously irritated, which seemed to make Masamune even happier.

"Yes Milord," Hideyoshi said stepping forward towards us.

Reluctantly, Nobunaga let his hands fall from around my waist and gave my back a small push towards Hideyoshi.

"Until we meet again, Princess!" Masamune called as we left the room.

We walked in silence, me absentmindedly following Hideyoshi, trying to calm my heart down. In a weird way, I was kind of sad Nobunaga had let me go...I could still almost feel his strong arms holding me.

 _Ari your so stupid!_ I thought shaking my head, _No way can you have the hot's for Oda Nobunaga! I don't even know how long I'm gonna be here..._

I was so lost in my head, I hadn't realized Hideyoshi had stopped walking, and ran straight into his back.

"Ow!..." I yelled rubbing my head.

"Watch where your going Ariana!" Hideyoshi said reaching out to steady me. Like I've mentioned, I'm extremely clumsy.

"You must be hungry," he said looking at me with concern filling his eyes, "The dining room is through those doors, they are just finishing supper."

"Thanks Hideyoshi, your right I'm starveing!" I yelled excitedly running through the doors.

"I'll come to collect you later to show you to your room!" he yelled after me.

The kitchen staff was really nice. They even made some sweet rice balls just because I asked. Although I made a mental note to teach them how to make cinnamon rolls and soon!

After eating as much as I could stuff into my stomach at once, I started to wander around the castle, or should I say, my new home. After strolling the halls and peeking into various rooms I made my way to the central garden. It was magnificent. A brook and a small pond were in the center, shaded by a huge cherry blossom tree.

"Wow..." I said quietly, entranced by the garden's beauty.

"Magnificent, isn't it," came a strong voice from directly behind me.

I whirled around, only to run straight into Nobunaga's chest. He reached out and steadied my shoulder's so I wouldn't fall, with a devilish grin set on his face. He kept one wrist firmly in his grasp so I couldn't move away from him.

"It's rude to sneak up on people y'know!" I yelled at him, trying my best to give him a cold glare.

He laughed at me. Which embarrassed me further.

"You are such a jerk!" I exclaimed putting my free hand on my hip and throwing my weight onto one hip.

Once again, I saw his face turn hungry and intense, like it had when Hideyoshi first brought me to him. As soon as I thought that about him he wrenched me to his chest, one arm snakeing around my waist and the other behind my neck. My body was completley wedged up against his, with my face inches away from his beautiful red-brown tinted eyes.

I could feel my face burning as his breath caressed my lips.

"You shouldn't do that..." he whispered, his lips periously close to mine.

"Do what..." I barely got out.

"Um...excuse me Milord."

We both turned our heads towards the new speaker. It was Hideyoshi.

"Pardon me Milord, I didn't know you were here. The kitchen staff told me the Princess went wandering, I was trying to find her," he said nervously, obviously afraid he was about to be in deep trouble, "I was going to show her to her room."

"Yes...of course," I heard Nobunaga say and turned back to him. He was looking at me again, only this time it was a pensive look. He slowly let me go, and honestly, I don't think I wanted him to. I could feel his hard body underneath his robes, and it setfire to my veins.

"Sleep well Ariana," Nobunaga said as I slowly started to back away from him. I was brearhing fast and I don't remember when I started. With one last glance my way, he turned on his heel and walked inside.

I felt my whole body slump, the nervous tension leaving me in one whoosh.

"Ariana! Are you okay?" Hideyoshi exclaimed, reaching for me.

"I'm fine," I said quickly, "Still just a little tired I guess.."

"Come then, I'll show you to your room."

For the second time, I set out behind Hideyoshi. When he finally stopped, I realized I recognized this hallway, this is where I was taken for my bath.

"Hey, this is the same hallway we were just in," I said peering around to take in everything about my surroudings.

"Very perceptive of you," Hideyoshi said sounding genuinely impressed, "Your room is right next door, there is an ajoining door inside, I would keep the hallway bathroom door looked from here on out if I were you."

He motioned me to the door and I just stood uncertainly in front if it.

"Ariana? ...Are you going to go inside?" Hideyoshi said hesitantly touching my elbow.

"Guess so..." I said and took a breath and slid open the door.

The room was beautiful. In the middle of the room was a futon, behind that were more sliding fusuma doors that led out into the central garden of the house. Another door was on the far right wall, presumably the bathroom. A small table sat near the left wall, with two comfy looking cushions set around it. A sliding panel was set off in the right corner for changing and a dark royal blue couch sat beside it. The whole room was done in royal blue, cerulean blue, and silver. I definatley wasn't used to diggs as nice as this. My jaw must have been hanging halfway to the ground because Hideyoshi chimed in a second later.

"Pick your jaw up off the ground, Ariana."

I closed my gapeing mouth and turned to him.

"Just Ari is fine Hideyoshi. And how can I not gawk at this room! I mean look at it! It's gorgeous!"

"Lord Nobunaga specifically wanted you to have this room. It's one of the nicest bedrooms in the castle. Why he has gone through all this trouble just for you continues to surprise me."

"You and me both..." I said looking around the room again.

He gave me a slightly surprised look, I don't think he expected me to agree with him.

"Well, settle in. I will see you in the morning Princess."

"Ari. Just Ari, Hideyoshi."

"Ari," he said nodding and smiling slightly,

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight..." I said back as he slid the door closed.

Once the door clacked shut, silence creeped in around me, deafning in its lack of sound. Did I mention I HATE being alone? I untied my obi as I walked across the room and shrugged out of the extravagant kimono, drapeing it neatly across the top of the changing panel. A sleeping kimono and robe were folded neatly on the edge of the couch, the kimono was a cream color and the robe was a light powdery blue. I opened the fusuma door and let the night breeze flow through the room

I quietly changed into my sleeping attire and heaved a sigh as I laid across the futon.

 _How in the hell am I supposed to sleep in this?_ I thought to myself grumpily. I usually slept in next to nothing, underwear and a cropped shirt was usually what I wore as "pajamas". I had a tendency to sweat like a pig if I wore clothes to bed.

From my futon, I gazed at the half moon in the night sky.

 _I miss mom and dad..._ I thought with tears welling up in my eyes, _I wonder if I will ever make it home..._ Burying my face in my pillow to hide my tears, from who I have no idea, my pride I guess, I finally gave into my exaustion, both mental and physical, and fell into a fitfull sleep with dreams of lightning and cherry wood eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

"Now this is a view I could get used to."

 _That voice...I know that voice,_ I thought lazily as I struggled to wake up. I blinked my eyes against the dazzling sunlignt that streamed through the door, trying to make sense of what was going on around me. My eyes adjusted and the first thing I could make out was a pair of cherry wood eyes and a wicked smile.

"Lord Nobunaga...what are you doing here," I said as i raised up off my futon, scratching the back of my head.

"Enjoying the scenery," he replied, his smile evolving into a full blown grin.

Not understanding fully what he meant, I tried to shake the haze of sleep from my brain. As the room came into focus clearly, it hit me like a ton of bricks. My eyes slowly drifted down my body to reveal my "pajamas", which didnt leave much to the imagination considering I had passed on the sleeping robes and was laying tangled in the sheets wearing nothing but a bra, boyshort underwear, and a dazed expression.

"Ahhhhh!!!" I squeeled jerking the sheet over me and trying to hide from his penetrating gaze, "You perv! What are you even doing in my room!!?"

His smile deepend, if that was even possible at this point, and started to slowly stalk towards me, "I think I should remind you this IS my home, therefore I'm privileged to enter any room I wish," he said coming to stand directly at the end of my futon and stareing down at me.

 _Okay, this guy is really starting to piss me off,_ I thought feeling my blood pressure starting to rise. Bad temper? Who? Me?

"But you GAVE me this room! You cant just barge in whenever you feel like it!" I yelled flailing my arms about.

"And? The fact remains, I am Lord of this castle and you, a guest in my home," his voice as smooth as silk, which of course pissed me off even more. I didnt like to feel vulnerable.

Jumping up from the futon, I threw every bit of my weight into my hip with my hands on my hips (my signature "im fucking mad" stance if you couldnt tell) "THIS is the way you treat your guests!!!? Then you obviously dont have many guests who want to stay here!"

To clarify, yes my anger had gotten the better of me and I was now standing on top of my sheets in nothing but my delicates.

Nobunagas face clouded over, and before I knew what I had done, my back was pressed into the wall behind me, one arm snaked up my back and the other wrapped around my waist, those cherry eyes inches from mine. Now my blood pressure really shot up, and not from anger.

His body was pressed so tightly against mine I could feel the hardness of muscles that played beneath his robes, feel his ragged breathing pushing against my chest. I stared into his eyes with my breath caught in my throat like a scared rabbit afraid to move.

"I told you not to do that," he finally whispered hovering just ever so slightly above my lips.

"I dont..understand..." I whispered back.

He finally licked his bottom lip and stepped back from me, smiling.

"People were starting to worry, its almost midday, you missed breakfast. I, being the generous host I am, came to make sure my princess was still in the castle."

"Im NOT your princess," I said finally gaining the feeling back in my legs which had turned to jelly.

"Tell that to your body, it betrays you," he said walking to the door smiling like the Chesire Cat, "being that you DO have a job to do as chatlaine of this castle I would suggest not sleeping in so late next time. Otherwise, your Lord might have to come looking for you again."

"Trust me, I wont give you a reason to barge in my room like this again," I answered with my hand on my hip again.

"Trust ME," he replied as he walked through the door and turned around to grace me with those eyes again, "If I want to come in, there is nothing you or anyone else could do to stop me."

With that last, he slid my door closed and left me with my heart fluttering like a bird in a cage.

 _That sounded strangely like someone who won't take No for an answer,_ I thought to myself as I tried my best to be afraid of his words. I mean I should be afraid...right? However the only thing I could seem to muster up was excitement and anticipation.

 _Great, real smart. Think with your libido_ , I thought to myself sarcastically, _Well I better get up and get to work, don't want him coming back to 'check' on me._...Right?


End file.
